Love Takes Flight
by Father Hulk
Summary: The touching story about Link and the beautiful young witch that he can't seem to avoid. *UPDATED ON 12-18-02!* R/R please!
1. Stranger In The Vines

Love Takes Flight

By Father Hulk

OPENING WORDS:  Hello, my children!  Father Hulk of the St. Eva Church has returned with a new Zelda story!  This one is intended to be deviant from my normal works, and I'm sure the finished product will exceed my own expectations as well as your own.  So here we go!  Just remember that these characters are not mine, nor are they the property of the St. Eva Church.  Enjoy!

The situation was hopeless.  That's the message that Link's brain had been sending to him ever since he had started his adventures all those years ago.

What was the situation?  Romance.  Plain and simple, he was never going to find any.  Back in his youth, he had been infatuated with Princess Zelda, but she had no feelings for him.  Every single girl that he even thought about asking out rejected him.  And so, the situation was completely hopeless.

"Ouch!" he cried as a Moblin shot an arrow into his foot.  He retaliated with a sword blow that killed the beast, then caught his breath and looked around.

He was in the Woods of Winter, a section of eastern Holodrum.  He was on a quest to save Din, the Oracle of Seasons.  He had obtained the Seasons Rod from Subrosia and had the ability to turn the season over to Winter, so the air was bitterly cold as he struggled deeper into the forest.

Suddenly, he heard a voice in the distance.  "Help!  Somebody please help me!"

Following the voice, Link ran into a clearing to see a young witch that was entangled in vines and being attacked by Octoroks.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Link cried, raising his sword.  The monsters ran off, and Link used his sword to chop the vines away.

"Uhhhnn…" the witch moaned, standing up shakily.  "Thank… thank you.  Who are you?"

"I'm Link.  Who are you?"

"My name is Maple.  I was just looking for some stuff I dropped, and then these monsters started jumping at me and then…" she laughed nervously.  "I'm sorry to trouble you."

"It's no problem." Link said with a smile.  There was a brief silence, where they found themselves staring into the other's eyes.

Maple cleared her throat and quickly looked away.  "Well, uh, I guess I should be going."  She got on her broom.  "Thanks again, Link!" she called before zooming off.

Link looked up as she disappeared over the trees, sighed, and continued on his journey.

That night, Bippin and Blossom had gone out to visit their son in Labrynna, so they let Link stay at their house until they got back.  He was lying in bed, thinking of the things he had to do tomorrow.  He had to go to Sunken City, he had to get to Mt. Cucco, and he had to be sure to pick up any items he found…  Something about that thought triggered the memory of his encounter with Maple that afternoon, and he found himself dwelling on it. 

She was beautiful, he admitted to himself.  Long black hair, mischievous smile, and eyes with that "playfully aggressive" look in them…

He quickly tried to discard these thoughts.  The sad truth was that Holodrum was a huge world, and that he had many more locations to explore, and he would never see Maple again.  And repeating the word "Never" firmly to himself, he rolled over and fell asleep.


	2. Funny Bumping Into You Here

CHAPTER 2 

"Maple!  Maple wake up!" crackled Witch Syrup, banging on the ceiling with her broomstick.  On the floor above, Maple stirred in her bed.

She didn't want to wake up.  She was dreaming.  It was such a nice dream.  It was of the boy from the other day… that cute boy, with his pointy ears and long hair, his smile… she was dreaming that they were lying in each other's arms, hopelessly in love.  They would kiss and cuddle, and then fall asleep under the eyes of…

"NOW, MAPLE!"

Maple jolted awake and rubbed her eyes.  She wanted Link to still be there, to kiss her good morning… but then she shook her head.  She was being ridiculous.  She had only spoken to him for a minute or two.  But then she remembered hearing that feeling true love on sight is a sure sign that it's meant to be… but then she caught herself again.  "True love?" What was she thinking?  True love took a long time to be recognized.  She was being totally nonsensical.

Slipping on her work tunic, she walked down the rickety wooden steps to the potion shop where she worked with her grandmother.

"Why the delay?" Witch Syrup asked.  "You are never late!"

"I was dreaming, granny." She said, smiling at the memory.

Syrup coughed.  "Dreaming my broom!  Now, go out and get me three mushrooms from Mt. Cucco and report back!"

Maple nodded.  "Okay, Grandma."  Slipping a coat on, she zoomed out the door of their Sunken City shop and took off towards Mt. Cucco.

The sun was rising into the sky as she zoomed on the wind towards the northern mountain range.  She smiled as she felt her hair being yanked back by the westerly breeze that nipped her ears.  She dove close to the ground and rose again, dove and rose again, happy to be so free.  She swooped low to the ground, and then… BAM!!!  She was on the ground, her face throbbing in pain.

When her senses finally came back to her, she looked up, and gasped.  It was him!  That boy had knocked into her again, and their items had mixed and scattered all over the place.

"Are you all right?" he asked, getting to his feet and kneeling over her.  She found herself smiling as he looked upon her, but quickly caught herself.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said, rising.  "Um, I think some of my stuff got mixed with yours."

"Take it."

Her eyes widened.  "What?  No, some of this stuff belongs to you…"

"It's customary.  The lady gets everything." He said with a wry smile.  "Take it all."

She blushed furiously, but slowly gathered all the items into her bag.

"See you again, I hope!" she called, mounting her broom and zooming off.

Link waved.  "Bye!"

5 Days Later… 

"Holy shmata…" Link groaned, pulling himself out of the Unicorn's Cave.  "I gotta find a Great Fairy… FAST!"

Suddenly, there was a shadow over the ground, and Maple came swooshing down from the sky again and flew into him.

"Owww!  Again!" he cried as his pouch opened and all his items flew everywhere.

"You again?" she said with a nervous laugh as she picked herself up.  "You'd think we should just make appointments for this to happen."

Link chuckled.  "Maybe we should."

She was startled.  "What?"

"Well, I dunno… maybe we should just make a time to hang out one day… it'd be a helluva lot easier than just bumping into each other at random."

"You mean like a date?" she asked, her voice quavering.

"Yeah, I guess."

She smiled and took his hand.  "I'd love to.  How's tomorrow at the peak of the sun?"

"Okay."

They went their separate ways, their minds in turmoil, thinking of the epic that was rapidly unfolding.

That night, Link had nightmares.  Nightmares of having something come so close to him, then be snatched away by evil feelings and bad hearts.  He woke up screaming, only to fall asleep and have another similar vision.  It was not an easy night for our young hero from Hyrule.


	3. Summer of Romance

Chapter 3

The next day, as the sun climbed from its bed in the east, Link too rose from his bed, sleep fogging his mind. Then in an instant the sleepiness vanished as he remembered what was happening today: his date with Maple!

"Woohoo!" he exclaimed, throwing his tunic on, "I gotta get ready!"

Link strolled around Horon Village and gathered some food, lava soup, and tasty meat. He put it in a basket and walked out to Holodrum Plain.

Just as the sun nudged in directly over his head, he heard a scream as Maple came hurtling towards him, seemingly out of control on her broom.

Link cried out and covered his face, waiting for the impact. But it didn't come. He peeked out from behind his hands to see Maple hovering in front of him, laughing.

"You gullible ass!" she said, pulling his hat over his eyes.

"That wasn't funny!" he said, grinning.

"Then why am I laughing? Come on, let's eat." She took a blanket from the end of her broom and spread it out on the ground, and so began the little picnic.

"How is it working for your grandma every day?" Link asked her.

"It's not that bad. Besides, I'm learning magic while doing it, so one day I can be a great witch." She took a sip of lemonade. "But look at what YOU do! You kill monsters and save entire worlds! How do you manage that?"

"It's very difficult, but the knowledge that people will be saved is what keeps me going." he replied.

"Uh oh, somebody's getting all prophetic." she teased.

"No I'm not! It's just… I don't know… I like what I do."

She smiled. "And I like you, Link."

"You do?"

"Yup." Suddenly she got a terrified look on her face. "What the hell is that?" she cried, pointing. Link spun around and drew his sword, and seeing nothing, turned back to see Maple had grabbed the last cookie.

"Hey, give me that." he said, but she pulled it away.

"Come and get it." she said.

He dove for it, and tackled her to the ground. She pushed him off and got on her broom. As she took off, Link grabbed on and pulled himself onto it.

"Gotcha." he whispered, closing his arms around her waist. She giggled and dove down, the broom dumping them both on the grass. He stared down at her.

"What are you gonna do, Link?" she whispered.

"I don't know."

"Are you gonna kiss me?"

"Do you want me to?"

"Yes…" she pulled him to her and they kissed, just as Maple had imagined in her dreams. And as far as she was concerned, he should be called a hero simply for the way he kissed.

"Remember a couple of minutes ago when I said I liked you?" she asked softly.

"Yeah."

"I take it back. I love you."

Link's breath was coming very quickly. Could it finally be true that he had found romance? Could his ultimate dream have come true? He slapped himself, to make sure he was awake.

"What are you doing?" Maple asked him.

"Just checking to make sure this isn't a dream."

"You're a stupid ass, you know that?" she asked, before kissing him again. "But you're MY stupid ass."

Link sighed and gazed up at the clouds. Onox could wait.

The next two weeks were a whirlwind of romance. Link and Maple were inseperable, and sometimes they spent entire days in each other's arms, listening to the birds. Witch Syrup frowned upon Maple being so preoccupied with a boy, but the Maku Tree didn't seem to mind the relationship and in fact seemed to encourage it. (Sort of like Jim's Dad on American Pie. ---M.J.)

Maple and Link often rode all over the countryside on her broom, as she had just gotten an upgrade to a Nimbus 2000. One day, they flew over to Koholint Island for some R + R, and their walk took them to the Island Library.

"Hey Maple, look at this!" Link called to her. "It's a whole book about traditions and customs."

"That's nice."

"It says here that the ancient Hylia people could only get married after passing a great test of courage… isn't that interesting, Maple? Maple???" He received no response. He looked around the entire library, but didn't see anyone else except for the dust mites sparkling in the sunlight that streamed through the tall windows.

Suddenly, a Wallmaster appeared from the shelf behind him and pulled him inside, his scream barely echoing through the building before disappearing completely.


	4. Cave Quest

Chapter 4

When Link's eyes had adjusted to the dark, he saw an elderly, bearded man standing before him.

"Elder? Is that you?" Link asked.

"Indeed, it is I, Sahasrahla, descendant of the seven sages." The man said. 

"Where'd Maple go?" Link asked, looking around in a panic.

"She has been taken elsewhere." Sahasrahla told him. "If you wish to rescue her, you must go through the cave behind me."

"No problem." Link had drawn his sword and was charging towards the door to the cave.

"Whoa, boy…" the elder said, grabbing Link's shoulder in a surprisingly firm grip, "Do you really think you can make it through?"

"I don't know." Link replied. "But I have to try. I love Maple, and I'll do anything for her."

Sahasrahla smiled. "Then Godspeed to you, boy! And good luck!"

The air in the cave was humid, and Link quickly discovered that enemies lurked within every place that air itself was allowed to enter. Gels nipped at his feet, while Stalfos attacked him from ground level, and Keese assaulted him from above. But Link fought gallantly, swinging the Master Sword left and right in defense and offense. But the monsters were relentless. Soon Link felt his strength begin to wane, and it became a struggle to simply defeat a monster.

Finally, the treacherous monsters stopped attacking, and Link emerged in a large, high-ceilinged cavern. And there before him stood his arch-nemesis, Ganon, king of Darkness!

"You!" Link roared, raising his sword.

"Fancy meeting YOU here." Ganon taunted. "I assume you've come to rescue the witch!"

"Yeah! So give her back, you twisted pig!"

Ganon laughed. "Ho ho ho! You don't seem to realize that not everybody acts on their own agenda!" He threw his trident at Link, but Link dodged, and parried with the Master Sword. But Ganon simply cast a barrier and deflected it.

"What are you talking about?" Link asked, preparing to strike again.

"You fool!" Ganon cackled while shooting lightning from his eyes, "Only now, at the end, do you understand!"

The battle intensified and circled around the cavern.

"You have met me well, boy. But now our fun must end." Ganon snorted, knocking Link's sword from his hand. Link, his strength exhausted, fell to his knees and collapsed as the room spun out from under him.


	5. A Happy End

Chapter 5

Gradually, Link felt his senses return to him. He felt his body become aware of itself, felt the soft grass he was lying on. He had a vague recollection of a horrible nightmare… he had fought a terrible battle with Ganon… he had failed Maple. He failed! Now she would be lost forever!

"Hey, wake up, you stupid ass!" said a very familiar voice. Link raised his head to see Maple standing in front of him. "There you go!" She said. "Get up, silly."

Link rose to see a vast entourage of people surrounding him. Din and Nayru, the two Maku Trees, the Owl, and the Wind Fish.

"What's going on?" Link asked apprehensively.

"Remember that book you were reading?" Maple said, "The one that said a Hylian warrior cannot marry without passing a test of courage?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Well I felt I needed to… speed things up a little."

Link was thunderstruck. "You mean, that was all…"

"That was my proposal, Link!" she said, pulling him close, "Say you'll marry me!"

After the wave of what just happened subsided, he turned to her and said, "Of course I'll marry you! You thought I wouldn't?" Everbody _oohed_ as they kissed for over 5 minutes straight.

The next day was very joyous as they celebrated the marriage of Link and Maple before the great Maku Trees. Everyone attended, even Onox, Veran, and Twinrova, whom it turned out meant no harm. They just wanted to bring Ganon back because he owed them all money. At the end of the ceremony, Link led Maple back to Bippin and Blossom's house and "turned off the light."

EPILOGUE

"Well it sure was nice getting to see our son again." Said Blossom as the couple entered Horon Village.

"Yepper." Agreed Bippin. "But it's always nice to get back home." They entered their dark house, took their coats off and put the light on. You could have heard Blossom scream from a mile away.

THE END!

Written by Father Maximillian J. Hulk of the St. Eva Church

FatherHulk601@aol.com

BENEDICTION: Well, I hope you enjoyed that! I certainly did! If you want to IM me you can do it on AOL, AIM, or at Yahoo under Father_Hulk. See you next time!


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